


The Talking-To-Kissing Ratio

by CrowdedFaces



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: AU, Books, F/F, Fantasy, I should learn some History, Medieval, One Shot, Trees, Tudor, magic (kinda), michaeng, nature (gotta love it right?), tree elf people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 05:21:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14948339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowdedFaces/pseuds/CrowdedFaces
Summary: Mina's a book-loving introvert who would rather spend some time alone in the woods reading than with some of the people in the town. Chaeyoung's a super curious, super energetic person who can move trees.When the two cross paths, it's up to Mina to sate the other girl's curiosity (if that is even possible).





	The Talking-To-Kissing Ratio

**Author's Note:**

> Fluffy one-shot I've been working on for a while now, set in some weird medieval-ish, tudor-ish au with magical tree elf people (it sounds really weird now that I actually say that out loud). 
> 
> Please enjoy :)

_Makato hadn’t really given much thought to falling in love, but being kidnapped in the place of someone she cared about seemed like a weird way to do it. It all started on that fateful day, the sun’s bright cheerfulness a cover-up for the pure evil lurking in the shadowy tree line. Like unassuming lambs being led to the slaughterhouse, her father and herself went for a normal walk in the forest, unaware of that they were, verily, sealing their horrible fates the moment they set a foot inside. Shadowy figures accosted them, ambushing them with both strength and fearful cries. In vain they struggled, but alas, they were no match for the assassins._

_Trees rose up from the ground, freeing themselves from their earthy bounds and moved to imprison them both.The skilled magic of the folk was surely something to be feared as they mercilessly reduced the defenses-_

“Nah, we don’t have magic, we’re just closer to nature than you guys are.”

Immediately Mina shut her book with a slam, hiding the novel’s pages from the person standing behind her.

“After all, we stay close to our roots.”

The person giggled, hand covering her mouth. She had a very youthful face, eyes sparkling, dimples present in her cheeks and everything framed by a rather boyish hair that was rather ruffled and had a couple of twigs sticking out of it. She was rather short in stature and her clothes had definitely seen better days.

“Umm...excuse me?”

“That book’s kinda trashy not gonna lie.”

“Go away.” The other girl ignored her grumpy nature, continuing on with innocent enthusiasm.

“I mean a lot of things in mystical until you pay them more attention...like...umm...like bees!-”

“I don’t care.”

“Awww come on, lighten up a bit.”

Mina sighed, placing a tired hand on her forehead and wondering what she had done in a past life to deserve this.

“How about no - I don’t even know you!”

“Well I’m Chaeyoung, but you can call me...Chaeyoung!” The girl looked at her expectantly, as if she was expecting Mina to applaud her or worship her and that pun...or something. “Now we know each other-”

“No.”

“Come on that was hilarious.”

“ _Sure it was_.”

“I’m way more interesting than that book.”

“I would beg to differ.”

“What is it anyways?” The girl tried to peer at the cover but Mina quickly stuffed it in her bad and closed it, hiding its contents from the curious eyes of the other girl. “Come on, what is it?”

“No.”

“ _Pleeeeeeeeeease.”_

“No! Go away! I don’t know you!”

“But I just introduced myself!”

 

~~~

 

This time for sure. Not even a twig dared move.

 

All was quiet.

All was peaceful.

All was person-free.

 

All perfectly perfect.

Her fingers danced along the back cover of her newest book, the next one in the series and a particularly thrilling addition to the small pile that she had stashed under her small bed, only to be read by candle light while everyone else slept unawares in the rooms next door. But now things were...heating up and she couldn’t bear to loiter about one more second - her family already joked about how she’d wear down the floorboards in a few hours - and so she had set off for a “turn in the local wilderness”, hoping to head for some nice solitude so she could finally enjoy the following chapter without having to bother with the stupid blacksmith’s son trying to accost her every other second.

_Makato couldn’t believe her eyes. This man, standing in front of her, eyes blazing with mystery and fiery passion swept ever closer. She could run - there was a space in the trees only a couple of metres away - she could get away. But she found that she didn’t want to. There was something in him....something calling to her to come closer and be willing prey to his desires. He was now right infront of her, his hands on her shoulders he pulled her in, her hands falling to rest upon his rock hard, very toned chest and abs. For a moment they just stood there, searching the worlds behind each other’s eyes._

“She found herself leaning in, closing the space between them as something more primal took over her body. She longed to finally taste it, to sate the eternal longing inside her to taste those luscious l…”

Mina slammed the book.  _Damn it, she found me again._ It was at least the third or fourth time this week alone: Every day, she would set out in a different direction, hoping that this would be the time that she wouldn’t be found. Alas, it seemed like this little book-interrupting devil wouldn’t quit bothering her, no matter where she strayed to.

“Oi! I was reading that!”

“Urgh, you  _again._ ” She really leant on the last word, trying to get the other girl to understand her frustration. Spoiler alert: She didn’t.

“Nice to see you too.” She smiled, response a little sarcastic but still full of bubbly happiness that Mina wished would go die under a log...or something.

“No it’s not.”

“Aww come on - you’re  _always_  cranky. Lighten up a bit!”

“Well I’m sorry I don’t like random strangers creeping up on me.” She didn’t even try and thinly veil her irritation now, brandishing it flourishingly with every word.

“Well I’m sorry you keep on wandering into my home.”

“This is a completely different section of the woods!”

“All the wood is my home.”

“Yeah  _right_.” Mina was so done with this conversation with this irritating, nonsensical elf. She stood up, walking over to another tree and settling down, bringing her book up so that it broke their eye contact.

“No, I’m serious.”

“Well…” She paused, trying to come up with a good reason for the other girl to leave. “Just-just stop bothering me then.”

“I don’t want to.” Chaeyoung chirped, half-bounding over to her and sitting down next to Mina so that she was facing the other girl. Her chin rested on her arm as she swung it. “You’re interesting.”

“Can’t you go bother someone else?”

“I could…” Mina looked at Chaeyoung expectantly. “But I don’t wanna.”

Mina sighed.  _Fantastic._ The long-forgotten novel was slammed shut and all but shoved back into the bag.

“So what was going on?”

She paused in her actions. “What?”

“In the book? What was happening?”

“Oh piss off.” Mina exclaimed, getting up now. She stormed off into the tree line, shadowed by the younger girl.

“Oh come on - I wanna know. Tell me what were they gonna do?”

“What do you think?”

“I dunno - why don’t you tell me?”

Mina was fed up. “ _I dunno,”_  she said, imitating the other girl’s voice.  _“Why don’t you leave me alone so I can find out?_ ”

Chaeyoung just grinned.

“Touché.”

 

~~~

 

Mina just wanted to be alone. That stupid blacksmith's son had taken away all of her patience for any sort of conversation when he had approached her, brandishing a couple of half-squished and very wilted flowers in her face. Not only had she told him several times that she was categorically not interested, but those damned ‘gifts’ of his had caused her eyes to water at such a close proximity - something that he should have realised after the third time it happened  _at least_.

But no, someone just had to appear today.

“Piss off.”

Chaeyoung smiled, as if the rude words were instead a friendly greeting between the two. Amusement seemed to be an aura around her today and maybe if Mina wasn’t in such a foul mood she might have been sucked into it.

“Someone’s moody today.”

Unfortunately, she  _was_  in the foul mood and that final comment was the last straw for her as her walls burst and her frustration poured out as words.

“I mean it! I come here to be alone so that people don’t bother me but then you always find me and bother me anyways.” It felt so good to finally let loose and get all the built-up anger go. “You’re so annoying and I just want to be alone - why don’t you get that? Are you dumb or something?”

The other girl just stood there, head drooped, lacking the happy-go-lucky aura she had had only moments before. Around them, the wood was silent, bereft of any birds or squirrels - everything had been scared away.

“Oh.”

“You’re just so bloody inconsiderate! For the last time piss off and leave me to read in peace.”

“I'm sorry, I’ll...I’ll just go...” She looked distraught, anguish written on her face clearly for the whole world to see. She faded back into the treeline, disappearing from sight.

Mina finally got her peace and quiet but a small nagging feeling didn’t let her enjoy it.

 

~~~

 

She should have been alone but restlessness made itself her constant companion; it bugged her day in, day out, blocking the words on her page and interrupting every scene playing out in her head. No matter where Mina went, no matter which spot out of countless she chose that day it would always follow her, clinging to her every lazy thought like a second skin.

The memory was a sickly yellow projection amongst the shades of green, playing shadowy dances against nature’s backdrop. Perhaps the other girl was sprawled out in a pile of leaves, or maybe she was leaning against a tree - she was so used to the image that her mind was filling in the blanks (and the guilt) like a familiar song.

It actually took a moment for her to realise that Chaeyoung was perched in the tree, the brooding expression searching the near-distance not a figment of her imagination. Without thinking, a soft “Hey” fell from Mina’s lips.

Immediately the other girl shot up, the branches beneath her swaying unnaturally to bring her closer to the ground so she could hop down. Avoiding eye contact, she muttered a quick “Sorry” and started to walk off.

“Wait...”

She turned back to face Mina, regret and resignation shining through her eyes.

“Look I’ll go, enjoy your book.” She winced at the bitter edges of the words.

“I want to apologise.”

“It’s fine. I get it. I’ll stop bothering you.”

“No, look, I’m sorry.”

“...I-”

“I was feeling awful and I took it out on you because you were the only person around.”

“You don’t have to apologise to make yourself feel better.”

“I’m not!”

“Well...prove it,” she spat. “because last time you said I was a bother and annoying. I won’t waste my time trying to get to know you if you really feel that way.”

“And I’m sorry.”

“ _I’m sorry_  just isn’t enough. I was just trying to be friends and you made it very clear how you felt about me.”

Mina struggled to find words to reply to that. She hadn’t prepared a long speech, planned out exactly how she’d make the younger actually forgive her; she’d just kinda hoped that she would anyways.

Chaeyoung saw Mina’s struggled and huffed, turning away again and starting to leave.

“...then how can I make it up to you?”

 

~~~

 

Mina took a few too many coins out of her pouch, regretfully handing them over to the grubby merchant before snatching up the certain pendant she had just purchased. Apparently Chaeyoung, the girl from the wood who was still refusing to look her in the eye when she talked, had been eyeing up similar ones on other people and wanted one for herself - something to do with the polished mirror inside.

 

_“Why don’t you just get it yourself?”_

 

_The other girl just glared._

 

The links coiled by her fingers, the smooth, crafted metal resting gently on the skin like a leaf gliding across a still puddle. It was rather pretty, Mina had to admit.

 

~~~

 

“What do you have in all those pouches?”

“Herbs.” Was the curt response, the smaller girl still clearly angry with her.

“What are they for?”

“I dunno...they...umm...they...they’re just useful okay?!”

 

~~~

 

Mina didn’t understand Chaeyoung: She had done everything that the other girl had asked, yet still she had not made any progress with her. It was really frustrating - no matter what she did she still seemed a little bit defensive and wary. In one final attempt to reach out to her, she grabbed one of her favourite (and more innocent) reads and headed out for the woods.

It didn’t take long until she bumped into the girl.

It took one look at the book held close to Mina’s body for Chaeyoung to get up from her casual slouch and start to leave, only to be stopped by Mina holding onto her sleeve. The girl let herself be pulled over to her side with a look of confusion and dissipating anger, slowly settling down again, only this time an arm’s length from Mina.

Chaeyoung studied the tree line for a while, eyes sweeping over the same calm canopies that painted the sky with broad strokes of green and thoughts scampering along with the squirrels high up in nearby branches. It was very tempting to look over to her left - to enter the story on the pages or just rest her vision on Mina’s face - but she didn’t dare disturb this peace, instead opting to swim in the bird calls and chirping that echoed all around.

She didn’t see Mina frown, nor did she realise that that the other girl still hadn’t managed to get past the first page yet.

Mina cleared her throat.

Chaeyoung watched a tree a couple of metres away from them, making it dance in an invisible breeze to a tune in her head.

Mina cleared her throat again.

Chaeyoung looked over this time, getting caught instantly in the other girl’s stare and only realised a couple of seconds later that she was patting the ground next to her. She shuffled a little bit closer to Mina, feet scuffling about in the leaves and dirt, but still kept her distance, not knowing what the other girl was comfortable with. Even then Mina did not look satisfied, still patting the ground (although now with considerably more force) causing Chaeyoung to nervously scoot even closer, until both girls were pretty much shoulder to shoulder.

Mina, happy now, returned to her book, not-so-subtly tilting it in the other girl’s direction. The smile on her face only grew when she felt the tree behind her shift slightly, as if getting comfortable, while the smaller girl leant into her a little.

 

~~~

 

Chaeyoung wasn’t reading today. Maybe Mina’s inition was razor-sharp, ready at any moment to make accurate assumptions about the world around her, or maybe it was the fact that she could see Chaeyoung starting at her in her peripheral that gave the other girl away.

“What?” She nudged, closing the book. The other girl smiled at her, showing off those dimples that Mina had come to know well.

“Oh it’s nothing - you’re just really pretty.”

Her expression dropped, a cloud forming in her mind.

“Oh.”

Chaeyoung looked on confused, worry starting to seep into her when she realised that the other girl was looking very,  _very_  offended.

“Umm...I’m sorry...I-”

“Is that all that you think of me?”

“W-what?”

“Am I just a pretty face to you?”

“What?” Understanding dawned. “ _Noooo_  - you’re really smart and clever and cool and stuff-”

“ _Really._ ”

“Really.” It was more of a statement than a question but Chae still answered it anyways. She didn’t know where this was all suddenly coming from, but she was determined to find out. “Why? What’s up?”

Mina seemed to deflate a little. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But-”

“Look, just drop it, okay?” She snapped, hiding her face from the other girl. “I’m fine.”

“...ok.”

She wasn’t going to push it - Mina would tell her in her own time.

 

~~~

 

“What’s up with that talking-to-kissing ratio? Man, I swear each second they’re eating each others faces.”

It was a little odd to share her books at first, but eventually it had become second nature between them. They had worked out their little routine between the two of them: They would curl up in each other, sometimes sharing friendship and the stories Mina brought along, and others sharing warmth and comfortable silence.

Mina closed her book, careful to keep her finger between the pages as she shifted her head in the other girl’s lap to look up at her.

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” she admitted, thinking back to the events of the last chapter. “I’m pretty sure the whole of time and space just bends over backwards to accommodate them.”

“I prefered the one about the dancer - it was pretty intense though”

“The ratio  _was_  better in that.” Mina agreed, thinking back to chapters filled with romance, ice-skating and  _actually decent characters for once_.

“Yeah - and that last scene (where they’re on the ice and it cracks so they think they’re not getting outta there alive) -  _man_ , I thought I was gonna die of a heart attack!”

“Nooo, don’t do that, I need my Chaengie here - who else am I going to share books with otherwise?”

It had taken a while, but they had eventually settled down into being friends, then good friends, then best friends. Neither of them could quite remember the exact moment of each transition, but they could track it down to one single thing: Mina’s novels. It was only until Mina brought in a particularly weird one about hunting dogs that Chaeyoung started to ask questions, filling in her knowledge of the outside world’s with Mina’s. The other girl (although she wouldn’t admit this to herself at first) really enjoyed the pure excitement on her face when she learnt something, or the wonder in her eyes when Mina told her about something new and so subconsciously started bringing everything bizarre and crazy from her bookshelf with her rather than the tame, entry-level stories she had started with - anything that grabbed the cub’s attention would be brought back time and time again while other novels would be  _mysteriously_  lost.

They had essentially formed a really weird book club, complete with their own in-jokes - “The Ratio” being one caused by a particularly stupid novel in which the main characters met and then started making out straight away, with only a couple of lines of dialogue.

One advantage of being friends with Chaeyoung (apart from the laughs Mina didn’t even know she needed) was that they never had to sit in an awkward position during these sessions, as she could just move branches until any tree was a comfy reading spot and gently adjusting it until Mina stopped shifting about.

“What’s it like? To move trees?”

“What’s it like to walk? I dunno - I think, and then I do it. Simple. I do remember learning how but it was ages ago and I do it so much it’d be easier for me to forget my name than imagine what it was like before then. It’s just like when you first learn to breathe using your nose or how to whistle - you struggle for ages but then you just...get it.”

“But don’t you get tired?”

“Well a bit, but only if I try shifting a bunch of trees at once. Imagine if I did though - that would be  _barking_ mad.”

“How about no.”

 

~~~

 

“You like romance stories, don’t you?”

Chaeyoung shifted a little, turning her head to look at the girl she was currently back hugging. The whole of that morning they had been immersing themselves in a fantastical tale of bravery and fortitude all involving a certain pure-hearted knight protecting justice and upholding the law of the land all under the banner of the so-called "Blue Badge". They had almost reached the climax: The fearless knight had swept through the sprawling streets of the city in the magical horseless carriage, slaying hundreds of besiegers as they rushed to the aid of their beloved, wounded and bleeding on the floor of her own castle. It wasn’t even the most extravagant book in Mina’s personal library but it certainly pulled at the reader’s heartstrings, especially with how high the odds were stacked in the villain’s favour.

“I suppose I do.”

“Why, waiting for someone to sweep you off your feet?”

Mina paused, considering the question.

“Maybe…”

They stayed in the quiet for a few moments, the birds flitting through the undergrowth all around.

“I guess it’s a kind of escape for me,” she continued, looking upwards at the sliver of the clouds that could be seen. “I didn’t used to be noticed that much around town, we were friendly but our family wasn’t particularly well off or notable and so we weren’t highly sought-out. We mainly kept ourselves to ourselves most of the time - the only exception being with some of our neighbours and a few close friends.” She sighed loudly, Chaeyoung feeling the girl exhale through the arms she still had wrapped around her. “It all started to change when I got older and started to ... _develop_. Suddenly I had all sorts coming up to me, complimenting me on my looks and telling me what a great wife I would make.”

“Sounds rough.”

“It was more than that - most of these people hadn’t even spared me a glance before and quite a few were at least twice my age - it was  _creepy_. Plus, a lot of them wouldn’t take no for an answer - like there was this one guy who would research anything that I even expressed an interest in so that he could bring it up next time we talked. I told him that I was just not interested but he kept on insisting that I was perfect for him.”

“Woah, majorly uncool. What happened to him? Do you need me to sort him out for you?” Chaeyoung flexed her arm right next to Mina’s head, trying to lighten the mood and cheer the other girl up a bit. “I’m sure I can use ‘ _reason_ ’ with him.” She lifted her other arm too. “I’m also pretty good at using ‘ _persuasion_ ’ if you know what I mean.

Mina pushed the other girl’s arms down, a small smile creeping unbidden onto her face.

“No, it’s alright, he left to join the military a year ago, he’s probably long forgotten about me by now.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ve got quite a reputation now and people have learned not to bother me - well,  _most_  of them - but it just opened my eyes to the world: I had all these people after me but only one or two even bothered to even attempt to get to know me as a person. One guy even called me Mimo for a whole month, despite me correcting him, before losing interest and pursuing someone else.”

“Now that’s bad.” Scoffed Chaeyoung.

“You tell me. After a bit I didn’t want to talk to anyone I was so worried they’d disappoint me, and so I turned to books instead. At times they can be just as frustrating as people, but at least they can’t forget your name, or try and pretend that they know more than you about dancing just because they read something about its history. I guess I used it as a substitute - if I wanted someone to pay attention to me and to care enough to learn all my quirks I’d just read a story with that. I guess it made me feel less lonely…”

Chaeyoung pouted. “Don’t be lonely - you have me now!” And then she squeezed the other girl tightly, forcing some of the air out of her lungs and causing her to cough and splutter. This caused Chae to instantly loosen her grip, panicking about how she might have killed Mina until she recovered, assuring the other girl that she was yes, still alive and no, not dying.

In a much quieter voice, she continued. “Seriously though, don’t feel lonely. Those people suck and you, Myoui Mina, are one of the most interesting, intelligent and generally-okay human beings I have ever met.”

Mina blushed at the heartfelt words of the younger girl, feeling a little warmer inside. The way she had acted in this conversation was... _nice._ But there was one loophole in what she had just said...

“How many people do you actually know?”

“Umm...That’s beside the point! Anyhow I-”

“Really?”

“Really what?”

“Do you really not know a lot of people?” There was curiosity blooming in Mina’s mind now, a desire to know more about her reading buddy.

“Well...not  _really..._ ”

“What’s it like - your life I mean - what do you do each day?”

“Oh, umm…” The other girl seemed really unbalanced, fingers tapping random rhythms on Mina’s legs as she thought. “There’s not much to tell really; we live in the forest, using the trees as shelter and taking most of our stuff with us.”

The girl smiled ruefully down at her belt.

“We can only have a few possessions really, only things we can carry with us as we move homes a lot to avoid burdening the trees with our presence for too long. We’re all some sort of craftsmen by trade - my mother weaves thing and my dad is a hunter - so we sell stuff to the merchants if we ever need something we can’t get directly from nature. Sometimes my parents would go with them to the towns - once they brought back this massive iron cooking pot since our old one couldn’t cook enough at one time for all of us. Since I was quite small at the time I could fit kinda inside and so dad joked that he would cook me one day - I was scared for weeks.”

“Poor Chaeyoungie.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, resting her chin back on the other girl’s shoulder. “I realised they weren’t serious though - they freaked out when I climbed five metres after a squirrel one day - they would never let me get harmed.” A sigh escaped her. “It was annoying though, they would never let me go with them. There was always something: The journey was too long or the people too unpredictable - they always said that we could meet someone who thought we were spirits or demons or  _something_  and it would be better if I just stayed at home.

“They just want you to be safe - I’m sure they’ll come around soon.”

Chaeyoung sighed again.

“Maybe you’re right..” she admitted, kicking a stick around in the dirt. “I’m just sick of being treated like a child you know? I’m almost an adult - I can take care of myself...”

The other girl hummed in agreement, caught in her mind.

 

~~~

 

_I think I like Chaeyoung._

The realisation took Mina way longer than it should have done; all the symptoms had been there: A rush of excitement whenever they locked eyes, the crazy fluttering feeling of her heart when they got a little too close, the constant good mood she was in whenever they met.

She felt high whenever they shared jokes (yes, even those  _god-awful_   _puns_ ) and she craved the smaller girl’s attention so much that she often found herself volunteering to fetch more sticks for the fire, or to gather some berries from the woods, just to give her more reason to venture beyond the treeline.

Her more frequent trips were never commented on by Chaeyoung, who seemed to be glad of the increased company, but Mina’s family had picked up on this and had started theorising as to the cause. One time when coming back from such an excursion, she overheard a hushed meeting in the living room. Words such as “lover”, “scandalous” and “the talk” could be heard - needless to say she made her way up to her room very quickly, burying her face in the blankets. On any normal day she’d probably be mortified for the next hour, but the recent memories of a shared hug with Chaeyoung soon resurfaced and she was filled with a giddy-happiness, allowing her to scoff at the idea of her being her lover...and then entertaining the idea of them doing something more than hugging...

ANYways, she would often find small reminders of the girl everywhere, slowly creeping into her everyday life. Her daydreams would become tales based on certain moments, imagining if she had leaned in when Chaeyoung had called her pretty, or what would have happened if she’d been a little bolder when they were talking about romance stories…leading to her blushing a bright red and hugging her pillow over-zealously.

The threat of the future was a constant, hanging over her head during all of this but Mina decided to ignore it. For now, she just wanted to be happy and have this feeling.

 

~~~

 

She knew it would never last that long.

“ _I’m leaving tomorrow._ ”

Chaeyoung had finally got her wish: She was finally going away with her parents and the merchants.  _I should be happy, right?_  Thought Mina bitterly, a frozen smile still plastered on her face.  _This is what she wants._

Any idiot could see that they younger girl was excited, hands waving all over the place, eyes sparkling and dimples dark caverns stretching far back. Perhaps, if one were quiet enough, they’d hear the faint tinkling of Mina’s heart shattering, her thoughts falling into despair and self-blaming.  _I knew this would happen. I knew this would end but I still let myself catch feelings._

Still, the bookworm maintained an outward semblance of control, barely paying attention to the other girl’s words but smiling and nodding along while pretending to be. She had never considered being an actress, but maybe she should have done, based on how easily she deceived someone who should know her so well.

Just for now, she’d pretend so that she’d still be happy.

 

~~~

 

The clouds had never really felt stifling to Mina before, but that was when she still had a colourful world. Now they trapped her in this grey-scale purgatory, locking her away from light just as she locked herself away from others. Everything she came across now in her few ventures out of her bedroom seemed a little darker, a little more inanimate and soul-stealing. Sounds that used to coax a smile out of her like the early birdsong no longer affected her - her ears had dulled themselves, choosing to ignore everything from the squawking of the people in the marketplace to the quiet murmurings of her worried family.

She couldn’t even pass the time with her precious books - she had no appetite for staring at pages filled with wonder when she just wanted to rip her feelings out and scream through the raw pain. Even when she managed to still her pacing for a moment, scooping up some volume and sitting to read a line or two she’d toss it to the floor only moments later, unable to bear everything each printed word brought back.

 

~~~

 

She couldn’t keep away. Eventually she felt the pull of nature, the desire to feel the cool earth shift under fingers as the bark curled onto her back to shelter her book and herself from both the elements and any wandering souls. The journey itself was painfully beautiful and serene: The air was a still pool, disturbed only by the sweet ripples of chirping birds and the rustling, shifting of the living undergrowth. Twigs crunched underfoot, branches reached out for her fingertips, and the aroma of damp soil hung pleasantly about.

Even time seemed to pause to take a breath, drinking in the fresh filtered green that flowed over the countless leaves and crouched in clumps all around. It gave her a moment to try and still the twisting feeling of her heart tossing and turning.

Yet, despite all this, it felt like a relief coming back. Just standing there in the clearing they would frequent, staring at their favourite reading spot, she felt her body lift up a little, pulling out of the slouching slump it had fallen into. Careful fingers traced the mountains and valleys of the tree’s surface, as if figuring out that landscape to give insight on how to bridge the sinkholes in her emotions.

_I know that I didn’t imagine it,_  she thought.  _But I might never see her again._

A lone tear rolled down her cheek, more brimming behind her eye’s defenses. Just this once, alone in their special place, she let her pain show and exposed the raw hurt she was feeling to the quiet twilight-world of the wood, only for passing squirrels and birds to witness.

_I love you Chae, but I can’t wait forever. Maybe it’s time to move on. I’m sorry...but this is goodbye._

After a while she pulled her knees in and hugged them, embracing herself as she left the last throes of her emotion leave her. It felt good to finally let that all go - she didn’t realise how much it was burdening her. Of course it still hurt, but at least it had shrunk from a sharp, constant stabbing to a small, dull ache in the corner of her heart. Time would heal the rest.

She pushed herself off the tree root next to her, brushing the back of her hand against her eyes and accidently smearing dirt all over her face as she did so. She laughed. “Oh dear, what am I going to do with myself?” And then she staggered all the way back to the village.

Or at least, tried to.

Before she had gone more than ten steps away, foreign hands surrounded her, covering her eyes and pulling her backwards. She had no time to think: Her foot came down, landing a solid hit on the assassin’s boot and causing them to groan in pain while their grip loosened precious little. It was enough. Fast as a snake she grabbed the wrists, wrenched them off her, throwing them to her left side as she spun around. One quick shove to the attacker sent them reeling backwards, still surprised by the sudden resistance.

At this point Mina finally took them in: The tired and worn boots with more scuff marks than than leather, the short tunic that still managed to almost reach the wearer’s knees, the belt tied at their waist adorned with so many pouches of herbs and miscellaneous items that it could barely be seen, the piece of string holding a meticulously carved wooden ring right next to an expensive pendant, and the short, boyish hairstyle. It was all familiar to her.

It was Chaeyoung.

“Chaeyoung! Don’t you ever do that again! You scared me  _half to death!_  I thought I…”

 

Then it hit her.  **It was Chaeyoung.**

 

Her voice trailed off, mind whirring as it desperately tried to keep up with the events of the past few seconds.

“...honestly you need to loosen up - I thought you were going to kill me there and now my foot…”

She tuned out Chaeyoung’s rambling, its demotion to mere background static the only proof that Mina’s brain was still, in fact, there and hadn’t just quit on the both of them.

 

**_Chaeyoung’s back._ **

 

“...serious pain right now. Pure agony. If I didn’t know you right now I’d be really angry and I’d…”

Nothing was working right now.  _Unfortunately, Mina has spontaneously experienced brain death. We apologise for any inconveniences caused._

 

**_Chaeyoung’s here._ **

 

“...was gone for a few weeks and you should be all happy to see me and greeting me with hugs and all that shi…”

All her life Mina had prided herself on being an entirely rational, logical and sane human being. Yes, at times she could get a bit moody, or sometimes let her emotions get the better of her, but on the whole she could always think her way out of whatever situation she got herself in, by weighing up each option and carefully considering the repercussions and outcomes of each.

Unfortunately though, the rational part of Mina’s brain had just decided to take a long, unannounced holiday and so, catching the other girl mid-pace, she did the next best thing.

Which was why she was now kissing Chaeyoung.

 

_Kissing. Chaeyoung._

 

It was a lot more uncomfortable than she had imagined - it wasn’t bad though, it was actually...quite pleasant. The warm scent of strawberries wrapped itself around the pair, a couple of hair tickling both their noses. She was barely even aware of her hands now, still clutching desperately at the arms which she had used to grab the other girl and shaking - as if they couldn’t decide whether they wanted her ever closer or further away.

 

_Kissing Chaeyoung._ **_On. The. Lips._ **

 

Then suddenly her thoughts were up and running again.

The panic pulled her back, parting them and leaving a small trail of saliva between her and the other girl’s searching lips. She almost stumbled back but was stopped by the tree that must have been moved there earlier. Her head spun. Chaeyoung’s arms were pressed against the bark on both sides, trapping her in place and restricting the intake of her lungs. There wasn’t enough space.

She looked away, not able to bear the weight of eye contact with her best friend for a second longer.  _I’ve messed up. Big time._

Chaeng wouldn’t let her go that easily, bending her her head forwards to try to get her attention and resting her forehead on the other girl’s when it worked.

“Hey.” She panted, clearly still gaining her breath back after the unexpected on assault on her lips. Her expression was somewhere between worried and curious when the other girl didn’t reply. “Hey, hey. Look at me.”

_I’ve really gone and done it now. She’s going to put two and two together and then she won’t want to be friends anymore and then I won’t ever see her and then I- you know what - fuck it._

She leaned in again, and this time the other girl met her halfway. Their lips moved together for a while, finally exploring each other like they had always wanted to do in a well-overdue, if slightly sloppy, kiss. They surely would have continued for much longer but Chaeyoung was grinning too much and then Mina was grinning too and soon they were both lost to giggles, rendering them useless and unable to continue any more. Instead they stayed pressed up against the tree, both their foreheads resting against each other and Mina’s arms wrapped against Chaeyoung’s hips while they panted and grinned at each other.

“Damn Mina. At first I was really annoyed that you beat me up but if you’re going to do  _that_  afterwards then sign me up. Do whatever you want to me.  _My body is ready._ ” She said the last few words with the silliest voice she could manage, pulling away slightly to fling her arms out in a cross position.

Mina just whined, pulling the other girl back in so she could hide her face against her shoulder and mutter a small “stop it”.

“Awwwwww, is little Mina embarrassed?”

“No” she grumbled, still not allowing the other girl to see her face.

“Awww I think she is.”

“No she’s not.”

Chaeyoung leaned away from Mina a little so she could see a tiny part of her face. “Then why aren’t you looking at me?”

“Because you’re mean and I don’t want to.” Was the response.

“Aw come on I just got back!”

“Nope.”

“Come on  _please_.” With that Chaeyoung fixed her with her best puppy-eye stare. Despite the older girl’s shyness, she had still been stealing glances when she thought the other girl wouldn’t notice. This was a surefire way to get to her. “Where’s my little Mina gone?” Any moment now…

“You...you asshole!” Oh. Not quite the response Chaeyoung was expecting. “I thought you’d left me for good!” She was pulling at her tunic now, shaking hands tugging at the poor material. “I thought you were never coming back! And now you’re suddenly here and acting like everything is fine. It’s not! You’re an asshole!”

“Mina wait a sec- hey! No I’m not. I  _told you_  it was only for a few weeks!”

“No you didn’t!”

“Yes I did!”

“No you- oh.” Suddenly all the anger left her body.  _Had she really listened when Chaeyoung was telling her about the trip? No, not really. She had just assumed that she meant for good._  “I guess I wasn’t really listening...”

“You numpty.” Chaeyoung cooed, wrapping the other girl up in her embrace. “You’re so silly.”

“Well you’re still an asshole.”

“How come?!”

“You shouldn’t have left me alone at all!”

“Well then you should have said something, silly! You know I would have listened to you.”

“Yeah but you looked so happy and all I could think about was that you were going…” Mina trailed off, not knowing how to finish that. They stood there for a moment, stuck in an awkward silence.

“Soooooooooooo...whatcha been up to? Besides smearing mud all over your face apparently.”

“You’re still an asshole Son.”

“Hey, no judgement. I heard that mud is really good for looking after your skin.” She paused for dramatic effect and Mina swore she could feel the whole forest take in a collective breath, all readying themselves to sigh after another stupid pun. “And also it’s  _dirt_ -cheap.”

“Yep, definitely an asshole.” She muttered, burying her face in her shoulder once more.

“Hey come on, that one was brilliant!”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I do.”

“Well then I guess I’ll go then-”

“No.” Mina lifted her head up again, pulling Chaeyoung’s body even closer into a hug that was beginning to morph into a death grip. “Stay with me.”

Chaeyoung grinned a little. “I thought you hated me?”

“I do. But you still have to stay with me.” She pouted.

“Why, do you want to act out one of  _those_   _scenes_  from your books?”

“Eh?” Mina wasn’t quite following. Chaeyoung wiggled her eyebrows and then suddenly the meaning of her question clicked.

“So, what about it then?”

She pushed the other girl away this time, face flushed bright red because of a cocktail of embarrassment, shock and a dash of happiness.

“Son Chaeyoung, I thought you were innocent!”

“Sooooo...is that a yes?”

 

Mina slapped her.

 

...and then kissed it better

...and then kissed her on the lips just to be sure

...and then kissed her a few more times just to be really extra-specially sure.

 

(They’d been talking for such a long time okay; she just wanted to raise the talking-to-kissing ratio by a little.)

(Okay, maybe by  **_a lot_ **.)

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyy you reached the end! How was it? Was it fluffy enough for your tastes?
> 
> Thanks for reading - see you all next time :P


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